Water closet



F; A. PETE' 2,401,098 WATER cLosET May 28, 1946.

Filed Jan. 31, 1944 INVENTOR. FR|EDR|CH A. PETER Patented May 2s, 1946 UNITED N' STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,401,098 WATER oLosE'r `Friedrich Alfred Peter, Palampur, British India Application January 31, 1944, Serial No. 520,503

3 Claims.

. The invention relates to a water closet intended for use in rural districts, and is to be used in conjunction witha septic tank or draina-ge system.

Under existingl conditions in rural districts where water supply systems and proper drainage are generally not available, the water closet of this invention will serve efficiently in place of the iush system sanitary closets in use in towns.

The invention comprises a water closet in which a truncated, cone shaped pail open at top and bottom is xed over a chamber. Below the lower outlet of the pail is a basin, which entirely surrounds the lowest portion of the pail without touching it anywhere. The basin is held in such a position that its rim is everywhere .2l/g inches above the lower rim of the pail, so that when the basin is filled with water it forms a perfect water seal of 21/2 inches height. The basin actsas the moveable bottom of the pail by being firmly attached to a bar which acts as its hinge. This bar extends through the walls of the chamber and turns in bearings which are fitted into the Walls of the chamber. Attached to the bar outside the chamber is an operating lever for tilting the basin from the horizontal into the vertical position or vice Versa. Attachedalso to the bar is a lever with a counterweight, this counterweight by the action of gravity brings back the basin to the horizontal position automatically Whenever the basin has been forced to the vertical position by the operating lever.

Water from a jug containing a sufficient quantity to fill the basin is poured over the inner sides of the pail flushing it. It collects in the basin filling it and ensuring thereby a perfect waterseal of 21/2 inches `around the lower portion'or bottom rim of the pail. When the water comes from a tank it is made available by the `action of a push valve which is inserted in the flushpipe which connects the tank to the pail. In that case the pail is provided with a flush rim which distributes the water over the inner surface of the pail flushing it. The water collects in the basin where it forms the water seal. The water in the basinreceives all waste matter when the closet is in use. On tilting the basin downwards bringing it into the vertical position by means of the lever attached to it, as described in detail hereafter, the contents of the basin are discharged into the chamber below, from where a drainpipe leads the discharged water and waste matter into a septic tank or the drainage. 'Ihe amount of water in thebasin ensures also that the basin as well as the chamber are kept clean and flushed.

Should the pail have become soiled during use it is flushed before bringing the basin back into the horizontal position, so that only clean water stays in the basin.

The basin when forced to the vertical position by the operating lever discharges its contents into the chamber and so to the drain leading from it to the septic tank or drainage. A vent pipe leading off the chamber at its highest point is also provided ensuring that no gases accumulate there. After the basin has been brought back to the horizontal position it is again filled with water, to reform the water seal, and it is then again ready for use.

In an alternative construction in place of the lever and weight used for bringing back the basin automatically to a horizontal position, a lever attached to the bar operating the basin is used,

Ythe movement of this lever being controlled by a spring, as described in detail hereafter. The spring used for this purpose may work either by contraction or expansion.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 shows a sectional elevation of the water closet of this invention.

` Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the water` closet of this invention where a lever and counterweight is used for bringing back the basin to the horizontal position, after the basin has been forced to the vertical position by the operating lever,

Fig. 3 shows a side elevation of the water closet of this invention where a lever and spring is used for bringing back the basin to the horizontal position, after the basin has been forced to the vertical position by the operating lever.

Fig. 4 shows a spring device for holding the operating lever handle and thereby the basin in position. l

In the drawing:

In Fig. 1 the pail I open at top and bottom can ybe of china, iron enamel or some other material' and is fixed to the chamber 5 which can be of the same material as the pail or be made of cement concrete. The pail I is fixed to the chamber 5 either permanently, when erected on site, or where a factory made article is used it is held in position by screws making it removeable to facilitate assembly and inspection. The pail I has a seat 2 and a lid or cover 3. The basin i which may be of the same material as thepail I and which entirely surrounds the lower portion off the pail I to a height 0f 2.1/2 inches when in the hori-f zontal position works in the chamber 5. The

chamber 5 has at its lowest point an outlet or drain 6 which leads to a septic tank or the drainage system (not shown). 4The chamber 5 has at its highest point a ventilation pipe i to ensure that no gases can accumulate within the chamber 5. The basin 4 when in the horizontal position surrounds the bottom rim iafof the pail i and when lled with water this forms the water seal for the chamber 5. The basin i is iirmly attached tok thebarY lteither byv resting on a support lia (see Fig. 3)` to which it is secured'and which is xed to the bar I5, or by the bar I5, being square at this point, passing through a square hole in the back of the basin fi, which also ensures, that the bar it and the basin i move always together. for the basin Il and moves in two bearings situated one in each side of the chamber 5.' Onone side the bar I5 protrudes beyond the wall of thecharnber 5 and there the operating lever 3a and the armor lever of theautomatic-shuttingl device, hereafterdescribed, are-nrmly attached. When the' operatingk lever Sa is pushed downwards by handle 8 into the position S1 (shownin dotted lines) the basin istilted` from thehorizontal positioninto the vertical (shown in dotted lines) discharging its contents into the chamber 5 and from there t the outlet or drain t. The downward movement of the operating lever imy is stopped by the rest ifi. This ensures that the basin@ does'notvcome into Violentcontact with the-.backof .the l'chamber 5i; When the operating lever 8a has been brought back into its former vertical position, in which it is irmly held by the lock device Ii, hereafter described, the basin l! assumes the horizontal position. Water is then flushed over the inner surfaceof the pail I which collects in the AbasinAre-forming the water seal, when the closet isl again .ready for use. Where the water is not poured in by hand'rrom a jug it is made available-by the action of a push-valve from a tank (not shown) A flushpipe it connects the tank with the pail which is provided with a flush rim 9 for distributing-the'water over the inner surface of the pail I.-

The basin 'i and operating lever 3a and handle 3 are-counterbalanced by an extension bar ita with .weight I6 at the end, the extension bar Ita is xedtothe bar i5 which forms the hinge for the'basin ii. The operating lever to is also nxed I to the barA E5 andthe lever 8a. when pushed downwards tilts the basin l so as to empty its contents into thechamber `5 andxfrorn there to the outlet or drain t, rThe weight I6 and eXtension bar Ita attached to the` bari counterbalance the weightof the basini and thelever ga and handle 8, soV that when the lever handle :S is pushed'downwards to assume the positionshown in' the drawingfas 81 the weight' I `is raised up to assume the position |61.

The release of the handle ii after the Vbasin is emptied causes the weight `lto descend by gravity and to resume Yits normal position'at i6, and in` doingso causes theL basin 4 to return to its horizontal position and the operating leverfa to come backv to its .vertical position.

To prevent the weight' IS passing'its rnormal position and the operating lever 8a going 'too far backwards and thebasin i'corning into contact with the lower rim I a of the pail i, a stop Il' is Xed in the ground on which the weight I cornes to rest. This prevents the basin l?. or pail I from getting damaged. As an alternative themovement of the lever handle 8d can be stopped by a check barcausing it to stop'aiter passing the lock The bar I5 acts asthe hinge.

device II, hereafter described thereby also preventing the basin 4 of the pail I getting damaged.

The counterweight I6 attached by a lever IBa to the bar I5 which also is the hinge for the basin l brings the basin fi back into the horizontal position by the action of gravity, the same eiect can also be obtained through the action of a spring as shown in Fig. 3. Y

To the bar I5 which acts as a hinge for the basin are attached the operatinglever Sa, and thebar or lever It which protrudes backwards. To this bar I3 one end vof a spring I9 is iixed the other end of spring 1S is fastened to the block 2S securely held in the ground. On tilting the basin i downwards into the vertical position through the action of the operating lever Sa the bar or lever it moves vupwards to the position I81 thereby extending thespring IS. When the lever 8a is released the spring i9 contracts and restores the basin i to the horizontal position locking the handle of the operating lever 8a, behind the springV to whichthe basinli is hinged and the operating lever 8a attached. By the downward motion of the'operating lever Ba when emptying the basin Ll the attached lever is made to compress a spring. On release of the handle 8'the force of the expanding spring returns or restores the vattached lever, the operating lever Ea andthe basin 4 to their former positions.

A rest 2i is provided to check the movement of the extension bar I8 in order to prevent the basin l coming into sudden and violent contact with the lower rim la of the pail I on account of the action caused by the spring I9 (contracting or expanding according to the system used) which moves the basin 4 rapidly from the vertical to the horizontal position at the same time bringing backthe extension bar i8 'from the position at I to i8. This rest ZI Aconsists of a T shaped iron bar which is xed vertically to the block 252.

As an alternative a check bar as previously noted could also be inserted behind the lockdevice I i, for checking the movement of the operating lever to and handle 8 and thereby stopping the basin coming into contact with the rim IaI of the pail I.

Referring to Fig. e:

Fig.v eillustrates a lock device for holding the operatinglever 3a in a vertical position by locking the lever 8a when the basin ll has come to the horizontal position. The lock device consists of a bolt li which moves in a tube i2. This tube I2 is closed. at one. end by a cap I2a, rmly xed to it, which has a central hole allowing the bolt head to protrude without allowingfit to pass through. At the other end the tube I2 :is-'closed by a cap i217 which also has a-central-'holey through which 'the shaft of the bolt passes. Inside the tube l2 is a springV I3. The passages of the rlever handle 8a 4over the bolt head I! pushes it back compressing the spring I3. As soon as the lever handle 8a haspassed the bolthead-Ii this is pushed forward by the spring I3 thereby lockingthe operating levert; `Thel lockLdevice is held immovablebetween .thelanges'of the pail I and the chamber 5; f

The, mainl advantages 1- of` this system :over the sanitary seats with ushsystem" as generally used are:

l. That it works on about 1/5th of the quantity of Water needed by th'e ordinary Vflush system and yet achieves the same features of cleanliness and freedom from odour;

2. That on account of the smaller quantity of water used a smaller septic tank is sufiicient;

3. That this system both in, initial outlay and maintenance is very much cheaper than the ordinary sanitary seat with flush system especially in houses where public water supplies are not available and where a special storage tank would have to be installed;

4. That this system contains no complicated working parts calling for special skill in plumbing and installation;

5. That no danger to the house occurs from bursting pipes Where temperatures fall below freezing;

6. That the operation of this system is noiseless which is not the case with other systems usually, a big consideration where many people live in the same house.

Having now'particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. A sanitary closet comprising a chamber provided with an outlet and a Ventilating opening, a pail mounted above the chamber and in communication with the upper end thereof and provided with a flush rim and a Water inlet pipe connection therefor, a bar journalled transversely in the chamber having one end projecting ex-l teriorly thereof, a Water receiving basin carried by the bar and enclosing the lower end of the pail to form a seal for the chamber, a handle lever connected to the projecting end of the bar for rocking the bar t0 tilt the basin, an arm also proiecting from the bar at an angle to the lever,

counterbalancing means associated with the arm and acting to normally maintain the basin in closed position and the lever in an upright position and for returning the parts to such position subsequent to operation thereof, and a resilient check device mounted in `th'e chamber in the path of movement of the lever at a point slightly in advance of the complete raised position of the handle for checking the movement of the handle as it assumes its fully raised position, said check devicesubsequently acting to facilitate the maintenance of the lever in a raised position.

2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the counterbalancing means is in the form of a weight connected to the outer end of the arm, a stop device for receiving the weight in its closed position, and a further stop device for limiting the outward and downward swinging movement of the handle lever.

3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the counterbalancing means is in the form of a spring, one end of which is connected to th'e outer end of the arm While the other end is anchored, and a stop device for limiting the outward and downward swinging movement of the handle lever.` L

FRIEDRICH ALFRED PETER. 

